Those four simple words are at the root of Whipped & Baked, a home-based bakery in central Virginia.

Founder Kandice started Whipped & Baked as a way to work from home while her three children grow up. The family lives on a farm, and the kids help Kandice tend to the animals.

“My children are my inspiration for everything. Without them, I don’t know that I’d still be here. They have kept me going more times than I’ve kept them going. I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t have them with me every day,” she says.

Many of Whipped & Baked’s ingredients, such as eggs and lard, come from the farm. Everything in Kandice’s cookies, pies, and cakes “is from scratch, using only real ingredients, things that you can only get from nature.”

Of course, running a home business is not without sacrifices. Whipped & Baked is far from a normal nine to five job. Kandice considers herself more of a cook than a baker and would love to open her own restaurant, but that’s a goal for “when my children are a little bit older.” Running a farm and a bakery simultaneously also means that she often goes without a full night’s sleep.

But to Kandice, it’s all worth it.

“[My kids] are worth every sacrifice,” she says. “I wouldn’t change it for anything. I love every single minute of my life.”